DEAL US IN! New Giants contracts for Senior twins TOWN SQUAD FACING WAGE DEFERRALS
CLUB IN TALKS WITH PLAYERS AS DEVLIN FEARS IT WILL TAKE 5 YEARS TO RECOVER
HUDDERSFIELD Town’s players are likely to be asked to take a wage deferral as the club continues to take stock of the financial impact of Covid-19.
Chief executive Mark Devlin has confirmed discussions with the squad are at a tentative stage.
Town, like most other clubs, are suffering big drops in their revenue and it seems only a matter of time before players are asked to defer their wages for a set period.
With no clear date for a resumption to the season yet earmarked, Devlin is acutely aware of the need to get the club’s finances in order.
“It could take up to three to five years to fully recover to pre-Covid days,” Devlin said.
“Bear in mind when fans are allowed back in, it doesn’t mean everything is sorted out.
“We’ll have had deferred payments to make good, both from
Government schemes and at some point we’ll agree a wage deferral with the players I’m sure.
“We’ve had some discussions with the players already. They’re trying to be as helpful as they can. “We’ll have lots of catching up to do, so I think it’s going to take some time to come out the other end.”
Last month Town announced they had implemented cost-cutting measures to protect non-playing
staff jobs and the financial health of the club. Members of the board and the senior management team have voluntarily agreed to defer their salaries for the next two months.
Devlin believes that if any good can come of this unprecedented situation it is that clubs will take a step back and ensure they operate within their means.
“Football will miss a huge opportunity if it doesn’t take a chance to look at itself,” added Devlin. “It needs to look at the way its cost base operates, look at wages throughout the business.
“This is a huge wake-up call for us all and I think there will be lots of changes to the way football operates.
“Football is going to come out of this very, very badly bruised, as is the rest of the UK economy.
“It’s going to be a soft period for two or seasons until clubs find their feet again and get some money back into the system.
“But I think we’ve hopefully seen an end to the days of wild overspending and clubs accumulating huge debts.”